Many medical conditions affect balance. From a cold or allergies, which might make you feel weak and reduce your sleep quality, to ankle, knee and hip issues, to longer term medical conditions, they all have an effect on your balance system.

Remember, the point here is to understand how your current physical state affects your balance health, not to beat yourself up about it. The idea is to know where you are strong, where you are weak, and what is practical to do something about.

You can divide medical conditions into two groups:

Acute – seasonal allergies, sprains, injuries, hip / knee / ankle surgeries

Chronic – long term issues, history of stroke, old injuries that haven’t healed, heart disease, diabetes, COPD, heart arrythmia, etc

For the acute group, your focus should be on being kind to yourself. Recognize that your body needs a bit of TLC and time to get better. If you’re dealing with an injury, rest it as prescribed and then do the rehab – with an expert if possible, minimize medications where possible, and get through it.

For the chronic group, you may need to balance what your body is capable of with what will help your balance. Fortunately, exercises like Tai Chi are compatible with many medical conditions as they don’t stress the heart or lungs but are great for balance. Of course, if you can manage more challenging exercises to build muscle strength and cardiovascular fitness, it will help your balance as well as your overall fitness if you can include them into your activity.

Always check a new exercise plan with your doctor and seek help from a physical therapist or exercise specialist who has experience with working with people your age and with your particular medical condition, to keep you safe and help you make progress towards your goals.